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Possibly France’s most legendary correctional facility, the La Santé prison – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five-year jail term for unlawful collusion to obtain election financing from Libya – remains the last remaining prison inside the French capital's boundaries.

Situated in the southern Montparnasse district of the capital, it opened in the year 1867 and hosted of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the most recent in 1972. Partially shut down for upgrades in 2014, the institution reopened half a decade later and houses over 1,100 inmates.

Famous past inmates comprise poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for High-Profile Inmates

High-profile or at-risk prisoners are typically placed in the jail’s QB4 section for “protected persons” – the often called “VIP quarters” – in single cells, not the typical three-inmate units, and separated during exercise periods for safety concerns.

Situated on the initial level, the unit has a set of uniform units and a reserved recreation area so detainees are not obliged to interact with other detainees – although they are still exposed to calls, taunts and cellphone pictures from neighboring units.

Mostly for that reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. Actually, the environment are largely identical as in the QB4 ward: the ex-president will be solitary in his unit and escorted by a corrections officer every time he leaves it.

“The goal is to prevent any issues whatsoever, so we have to block him from encountering other prisoners,” an insider stated. “The easiest and best solution is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to segregation.”

Living Quarters

Each of the solitary and protected cells are similar to those elsewhere in the jail, averaging about eleven square meters, with window coverings created to restrict communication, a bed, a small desk, a shower unit, toilet, and landline telephone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will receive regular meals but will also have the option to the canteen, where he can purchase groceries to cook for himself, as well as to a small solitary outdoor space, a gym and the library. He can rent a refrigerator for 7.50 euros a monthly and a television for €14.15.

Limited Social Contact

Apart from three allowed visits a week, he will primarily be by himself – an advantage in the facility, which notwithstanding its recent renovation is running at approximately double its designed capacity of 657 inmates. The country's jails are the third most packed in the EU.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has repeatedly asserted his innocence, has said he will be taking with him a biography of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is given a sentence to jail but breaks out to get retribution.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was additionally bringing earplugs because prison can be loud at night, and multiple sweaters, because units can be cold. Sarkozy has stated he is unafraid of being in jail and aims to make use of the period to author a manuscript.

Release Prospects

It is unclear, though, how long he will in fact stay in the facility: his attorneys have already filed for his early release, and an reviewing judge will must establish a chance of flight, further crimes or influencing testimony to justify his further imprisonment.

France's legal experts have indicated he might be released in less than a month.